August 2026 | Advice

Advising others is tricky business. People often seek out advice because they are uncertain about something but then feel unsatisfied by being told what to do. We like advice when we ask for it but not when it is offered unsolicited. Sometimes we just want to be heard by someone else, not told what to do. When we give advice, we share in the deliberation about something but not in the responsibility towards it.

Yoga teachers are often asked for advice by students. Often, simple advice can degenerate into showing off how much we know, rather than listening, asking questions, and trying to be responsive to what is genuinely needed. I once heard a student who had just then received the news that her mother had passed away, advised to read the Bhagavad Gita. Good advice has a time and place.

The best advice will always be from one who has personal experience. One who has walked the path ahead of us and advises us out of direct experience. The best advice will come from genuine caring and not ego. We cherish the advice and insight provided by a guru or one further along the spiritual path than we are. And there are moments when the gurus make clear that they are providing advice which should be heard carefully. It may come in the form of storytelling. It will always be respectful. It will be clear, it will inspire, and it will transcend the person giving it.

 In this issue of Sivananda Yoga Sandesha we explore Advice, giving it, sharing it, taking it. We share some of Swami Vishnudevananda’s final instructions on expectations for the spiritual path, advice on how to keep up the practice at home after the Teachers’ Training Course ends, and Bhishma’s final counsel during the war, received as an offering rather than a burden. We share Ayurvedic advice on right daily living or Dinacharcya, and an article on the links between quantum physics and consciousness. As usual, please feel free to reach out to us with your thoughts and feedback at: [email protected]

These snapshots were taken at various events across India this past month: a field trip by 143 students from TVS School to the Madurai Ashram, the inauguration of new Ganesh Kutir rooms at Neyyar Dam Ashram, landscaping work at the Gudur Ashram, Guru Purnima pooja at the Neyyar Dam Ashram, celebratory birthday lunch in honour of (and sponsored by) our Trustee, Dr. Narayanasamy, as well as a pilgrimage by Trivandrum Centre students, staff, and Neyyar Dam Directors! The group of 45 visited Aryankavu Ayyappan Temple, Thirumalai Murugan Kovil, and the powerful Kaasi Viswanathan Temple in Tenkasi.

Here are some snapshots from the newly inaugurated Sandesha Yoga Vedanta Centre, where we began offering ongoing yoga retreats during the summer months in the peaceful countryside of Northumberland County, east of Toronto, at the Lotus Heart Centre. For more information visit: https://sandeshayoga.org/

A student shared this link to a paper that presents a novel framework to integrate consciousness with fundamental physics, proposing that consciousness is not an emergent property of neural processes but a foundational aspect of reality. Quantum physics has so many parallels with Vedanta and Yoga. Read more here:

https://pubs.aip.org/aip/adv/article/15/11/115319/3372193/Universal-consciousness-as-foundational-field-A

Aug 9 – Ekadasi
Aug 12 – New Moon
Aug 23 – Ekadasi
Aug 26 – Onam
Aug 28 – Full Moon

At the end of the Teachers’ Training Course we always address one question in the minds of the new graduates: how do I keep up the practice at home? The same question is relevant for those who have undergone other courses at the ashram, or have spent time in the Yoga Vacation. The ashram environment is most suitable for increased practice and for developing discipline…but what to do at home?

We should not try to create ashram routines at home but to be practical and find what and how often and how long to practice at home and how to make the practice comfortable and enjoyable. I hope the advice here is helpful. What questions or concerns do you have with your practice at home?

 I hope this video is beneficial for your practice and teaching. With best wishes for your yoga practice! Pranams.

Five thousand years ago, Ayurveda understood that the body functions in a holistic way. To balance the states of body and mind–unlike a scientific approach where get into the complexities of their inner functioning–Ayurveda advocates a daily routine, lived according to the principles of nature. Ayurveda devised an approach to living each day well based on this holistic understanding.

There is so much more to this approach than waking up early and performing a set of tasks at specific times of the day. Right from the time we choose to wake up, until we go to bed, and whatever we do in-between, each action has a huge impact on our physiology, psychology, and chemical secretions. This state of being determines how our body feels, functions and behaves from the inside-out.

In Ayurveda, ‘living the day right’ means aligning the body, mind, senses, and actions to the natural rhythms of the sun and to your own constitution (prakriti). This art of alignment with nature is called ‘Dinacharya’. Living according to Dinacharya brings a rhythm, a pattern in day-to-day life, that deeply supports the inner functioning of body and mind.

Here is how Ayurveda suggests living each day:

2 AM – 6 AM: This time of the day possesses the characteristics of Vata energy. Nature is quiet and prana is abundant in the atmosphere. The light, breezy and cool environment supports clarity of mind. According to Ayurveda, this time of day is known as ‘Brahma Muhurta’, the most sacred time of the day, when the consciousness is naturally elevated. This is considered the best time to meditate and energize the mind, and to detox the body by practicing elimination practices such as tongue scraping, oil pulling, and warm water therapy. Pranayama, journaling, mantra chanting, circulation-enhancing Yoga asanas, and spiritual study are best done at this time of day.

The Vata qualities of lightness and movement impact the mind and make it naturally receptive to a state of inner calm. Vata energy is in its balanced state in the morning, allowing the mind to be more creative and intuitive.

6 AM – 10 AM – This time of the day possesses the characteristics of Kapha energy. This is the time to create grounding and stability for the day. Movement practices, breakfast, and beginning of the day’s work must take place during this time as the energy is receptive for heavy tasks. Movement is an essential activity during this time as the sluggishness caused by accumulated kapha melts away with movement.

10AM – 2 PM – This time of the day possesses Pitta characteristics. It is the ideal time for digestion and transformation-related activities. We are solar beings and as the sun rises high in the sky, our digestive fire (Agni) reaches its peak during this time. The body is naturally in a state of transformation during this time, converting foods into nutrients and ideas into executable plans. The best activities to be performed during this time include eating the largest meal of the day, scheduling important meetings, strategic thinking, business planning, problem solving, learning, and performing high concentration tasks.

2PM – 6 PM – Vata energy dominates again during this time. This time must be spent on fostering creativity and communication. As the afternoon progresses, mental activity increases with Vata energy gaining dominance. The nervous system becomes more active and ideas begin flowing. This is the best time for brainstorming, creative work, writing, teaching, practicing yoga, planning meetings, reading and learning new skills.

6 PM – 10 PM – Kapha energy returns during this time, creating an environment of slowing down. This is the perfect time to restore energy, enjoy family time, have a light dinner and to go to bed. As darkness approaches, the body naturally prepares for sleep as the Kapha energy promotes relaxation.

10 PM – 2 AM – This time of the day is the Pitta time when the energy of transformation is active. It is a crucial time for the body and mind to detox and restore and our internal transformation processes activate. This is when the liver detoxifies, tissues repair, hormones regulate, memory consolidates, and immunity strengthens. If you stay awake past 10 PM, this second wave of Pitta often creates a “second wind,” making us feel energized and hungry, instead of repairing the body, and the transformative energy is diverted again towards mental activity and digestion. This adversely impacts the functioning of hormones, emotional health, skin health, and overall longevity.

तस्मात्सर्वेषु कालेषु मामनुस्मर युध्य च ।
मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धिर्मामेवैष्यस्यसंशयम् ॥ ८.७ ॥

“Therefore, at all times remember Me and perform your duty. With your mind and intellect dedicated to Me, you shall surely come to Me of this there is no doubt.”
— Bhagavad Gita 8.7

The Mahabharata contains many voices of counsel, yet perhaps none is more moving than that of Bhishma, who chose to teach not from a throne, but from a bed of arrows.

When the conch shells had fallen silent and the dust of Kurukshetra had settled, the war left behind an inheritance no one had sought. The kingdom had been won, yet Yudhishthira could not bring himself to ascend the throne. Everywhere he looked, victory bore the faces of those who had fallen, teachers who had formed him, kinsmen who had loved him, companions who had once shared his youth.

The royal sceptre seemed too small a thing to justify such loss. The burden of kingship now weighed more heavily than the years of exile that had preceded it. Seeing the turmoil within him, Krishna led Yudhishthira to Bhishma. Upon a bed of arrows lay the one man whose counsel could restore what the war had broken: not merely a kingdom, but the heart of its king.

There lay the grandsire of the Kuru house. The warrior who had once commanded vast armies could no longer lift a weapon, yet the passing of strength had not diminished the light of wisdom. Stripped of rank, power, and every earthly distinction, Bhishma remained rich in the one treasure that time could not diminish: a life shaped by an uncompromising devotion to dharma, and a heart that found its final refuge at the feet of Krishna.

It is here that the great dialogue of the Śānti Parva unfolds. Bhishma spoke of kingship, justice, charity, self-restraint, and the sacred responsibilities of one entrusted with power. Among his many teachings, he extolled kṣamā forbearance or forgiveness as one of the highest virtues, reminding Yudhishthira that true strength lies not in conquering others, but in mastering oneself. The Śānti Parva expresses this beautifully:

क्षमा धर्मः क्षमा यज्ञः क्षमा वेदाः क्षमा श्रुतम्।

“Forgiveness is dharma; forgiveness is sacrifice; forgiveness is the Vedas; forgiveness is sacred wisdom.”

Again and again, his counsel returned to a single truth: dharma cannot be sustained by power alone. It must be guarded by humility, purified of self-interest, and illuminated by the constant awareness of the Divine. The throne, he taught, is never a possession. It is a trust placed in human hands for the welfare of all. But the deepest counsel of this episode is found not only in Bhishma’s words, but in the silence that surrounds them.

Krishna stands before him. The charioteer of Kurukshetra has laid aside the reins. He does not interrupt, nor does He speak. He simply remains, receiving the final offering of a life that had known both glory and grief, yet had never ceased to seek truth.

The arrows that held Bhishma’s body to the earth could not disturb the mind that rested upon the Lord. What had been a battlefield became, by the Divine Presence, a place of sacred instruction and remembrance.

When his counsel had come to its natural end, Bhishma desired nothing more. His eyes remained fixed upon Krishna. The Śrīmad Bhāgavatam preserves that sacred moment in a phrase of extraordinary simplicity: पश्यन् मुकुन्दं मनसा दृशा गिरा , beholding Mukunda with his mind, his eyes, and his speech. Having offered his final prayers, he withdrew from the world with his whole being absorbed in the Lord.

The Mahabharata turns from the tumult of war to the stillness of wisdom. Before Bhishma departed, he left behind more than counsel for a king. His life reminds us that wisdom finds its expression in dharma, and that dharma, when illuminated by devotion, becomes an offering rather than a burden.

Perhaps this is Bhishma’s enduring counsel: to perform our duty with steadfastness, to meet suffering with dignity, and to let every thought, every action, and finally every breath rest in the Divine.